
67
May 19
TueS day
The Parable of the Lost Son: Part 2
4. The return home (Luke 15:17–20) was a journey of repentance.
The journey began “‘when he came to himself’” (NKJV). Recognition
of where he was, in comparison with what his father’s home was, drove
him to “arise” and “go” to his father. The prodigal son returns home
with a four-part speech that defines the true meaning of repentance.
First, there is an acknowledgment of the father as “ ‘my father’ ”
(vs. 18, NKJV). The prodigal son now needs to lean upon and trust his
father’s love and forgiveness, just as we must learn to trust in our heav-
enly Father’s love and forgiveness.
Second, confession: what the prodigal did is not an error of judg-
ment, but a sin against God and his father (vs. 18).
Third, contrition: “ ‘I am no longer worthy’ ” (vs. 19, NKJV).
Recognition of one’s unworthiness, in contrast to the worthiness of
God, is essential for true repentance to take place.
Fourth, petition: “‘Make me’” (vs. 19, NKJV). Surrender to whatever
God wills is the destination of repentance. The son has come home.
5. The waiting father (Luke 15:20, 21). The wait and the vigil, the
grief and the hope, began at the moment the prodigal son stepped out of
the home. The wait was over when the father saw him “a great way off,”
and then “had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him” (vs. 20). No other image captures the character of God as that of
the waiting father.
6. The rejoicing family (Luke 15:22–25). The father embraced the
son, clothed him with a new robe, put a ring on his finger and shoes
on his feet, and ordered a feast. The family was in celebration. If leav-
ing the home was death, the return was a resurrection, and worthy of
rejoicing. The son was indeed a prodigal, but nevertheless a son, and
over every repentant son there is joy in heaven (vs. 7).
7. The elder son (Luke 15:25–32). The younger son was lost when he
stepped out of the home to go to a distant land; the older son was lost because,
though he was home in the body, his heart was in a distant land. Such a heart
is angry (vs. 28), complaining, and self-righteous (vs. 29), and refuses to rec-
ognize a brother. Instead, it recognizes only a “‘son of yours,’” a spendthrift
without character (vs. 30, NKJV). The elder son’s attitude toward the father
is the same as that of the Pharisees who accused Jesus: “‘This Man receives
sinners and eats with them’” (vs. 2, NKJV). The father’s final word with his
elder son reflects heaven’s attitude to all repentant sinners: “‘ “It was right
that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is
alive again, and was lost and is found” ’” (vs. 32, NKJV).
Put yourself in the older brother’s shoes. However wrong his
thinking, why does it make so much “sense” that he would feel
that way? How does this story reveal ways in which the gospel
goes beyond what “makes sense”?